Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The most popular farmed fish species in Taiwan may soon help save endangered sharks.

It turns out that the caudal fins of Taiwan tilapia -- a hybrid of Oreochromis mossambicus and Oreochromis niloticus niloticus
-- can replace shark dorsal and pectoral fins in the highly
sought-after shark fin soup, said Wang Yi-feng, general manager of the
Kouhu Fisheries Cooperative in Yunlin County and a Taiwan tilapia
expert.

Just over a year ago, Wang began studying how to turn tilapia tail fins
into something very similar to processed shark fins. Tilapia fins are
already on the market as a substitute and their increasing popularity
could lower the demand that has been driving the overfishing of sharks, Taiwan Today reports.

“Caudal fins of Taiwan tilapia are a perfect stand-in for shark fins
because they have the same appearance and texture,” said Wang. “Most
importantly, the fact that Taiwan tilapia is a farmed fish guarantees
stable supplies of the delicacy, which could prevent sharks from being
wiped out.”

Just like shark fins, tilapia fins are made up primarily of cartilage,
which is flavourless but has a desirable chewy consistency, Wang
explained.

As opposed to shark fins, which can be extremely harmful due to the high
levels of mercury accumulated by sharks, Taiwan tilapia fins pose no
threat of heavy metal poisoning, he explained.

Founded in 1997, the Kouhu Fisheries Cooperative is made up of more than
200 fish farm operators from three southern Taiwan counties with a
combined pond area of 2,300 ha, and represent a fourth of the country’s
total tilapia farming area. Wang specified that the cooperative is
Taiwan’s largest exporter of frozen tilapia fillets and also runs in
compliance with European Union (EU) food standards while offering
traceable product resumes.

Notably, shredded fins cost around USD 120 per kg -- one-quarter the
cost of shredded shark fins. However, tilapia fins can only be used
shredded because they are much smaller than shark fins, Wang pointed
out.

The product is becoming increasingly trendy in Hong Kong, Japan and many five-star hotels in Taiwan.

Currently, the Tilapia fins’ monthly output stands at 1 ton, but this is
expected to double or triple by next year to meet growing market demand
now that the manufacturing process has matured, Wang said.

“I believe there is great market potential for tilapia fins and I’m confident that consumers will love them,” he added.

Wang is now researching the use of hyaluronic acid extracted from the
crystalline lens of the Taiwan tilapia eyes to create cosmetic
products.